2023 Author: Gordon Kinson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 11:09
Former engineer and now self-development guru Chade-Meng Tan joined Google in 2000 and became employee number 107. Together with other engineers, Tan contributed greatly to the creation of the company's search engine, but that was not what brought him popularity.
He later began teaching mindfulness classes for Google employees, for which he earned the nickname "Cheerful Good Guy." Tang subsequently left his position as an engineer, founded a mindfulness institute for corporate employees, and began writing books on self-development.
According to Tan, he used to feel unhappy all the time, but then everything changed. How did this happen? The guy was not even thirty, when he suddenly realized that self-hatred is a feeling that can be fought with, and temperament is a very pliable and changeable thing. You need to properly shape your thinking, Tang is sure. The formation of thinking proposed by him has little in common with psychotherapy and, rather, resembles mental exercises.
One of these mental exercises involves eating "little slices of happiness" and looking for joy in the little things.
As a rule, such small joys go unnoticed. The feeling when you take a bite of something edible, the feeling when in the heat you enter a room with air conditioning, the moment of unity when you receive a message from an old friend - these moments last two or three seconds, but they can lift your spirit. If you pay attention to joy more often, the more joy itself will be, Tan believes.
Once you start noticing these moments of happiness, they will accompany you everywhere. This is because by noticing joy, you are accustoming your brain to it. This is how our nervous system forms habits.
Parts of the brain called the basal ganglia or basal nuclei are responsible for the usual human behavior. These same areas are responsible for memories and emotions. The better we get at something, the easier it becomes to repeat these actions without cognitive effort.
Tan's exercise contains the three components needed to build a habit - trigger, routine, and reward. The trigger is the pleasant moment, the routine is to pay attention to that moment, and the reward is a sense of joy.
This exercise will be a real boon for those who practice meditation.
The former engineer's theory is supported by a recent study by psychologists at Loyola University, in which people over the age of 55 took part. The study showed that participants in the experiment who know how to enjoy life are more satisfied with their condition even in poor health.
The ability to enjoy life increases with age. In 2014, marketing professionals at Dartmouth College conducted their own small study. As it turns out, older people tend to describe themselves by describing pleasant, everyday little things. At the same time, adolescents and young people under the age of 30 make use of outstanding moments in their lives, such as leaving school or buying their first car.
See also:
- 11 foods to help prolong youth.
- 2 exercises that will keep you healthy for years to come.
- 20 things smart people never do
